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"Theft of the Person" or Stolen Personality

The virtual doubles of citizens arising because of outflow of personal data, are capable of in many respects — to use bank accounts, to receive credits, to register the companies. And the Internet only expands opportunities for «theft of the person».

Electronic services have brought to people not only convenience and economy of time, but also new threats, to one of which became so-called theft of the person — a crime when the stolen personal data are used for reception of material benefit. So, according to agency Javelin Strategy and Research, 11,1 million Americans appear victims of similar crimes of personality stealing in 2009, and the general damage has made about 54 billion dollars.

Secrets of criminal craft

Though cases of larceny of another’s reputation ascend still to antiquated Bible, similar crimes have accepted in the USA scale character only in second half of last century. It has been caused by a wide circulation of online-services (reception of plastic cards, credits etc). According to the Federal Commission on Trade of the USA which is the basic state agency on protection of the American consumers, the basic damage from «theft of the person» occurs because of outflow of credit cards and numbers of social insurance.

In an arsenal of the qualified swindlers there is a set of methods to seize personal data. For example, alongside with usual theft of wallets and documents one of sources of the personal information are garbage containers, where imprudent citizens (or the organizations) thoughtlessly throw out unnecessary financial documents. Very widespread way became so-called “pretexting”(not the real reason, and a pretext), when false occasions are used to receive your personal information (usually by phone) from financial establishments, from operators of communication and other sources. Technically advanced swindlers abduct requisites of bank cards ((Skimming) and-or simulate sites of financial establishments to force the user to show the personal information (Fishing).